Hirscher wins Adelboden Slalom for the second time

13 January 2013 10:25

Adelboden 2013 - Slalom Podium -

FIS

ADELBODEN, Switzerland – One couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day to race then what skiers woke up to this morning in Adelboden. Under a clear sky and in front of an enthusiastic crowd, the Slalom in Adelboden proved to be a great sport show.

Marcel Hirscher made the impossible happen, after sitting in eight place after the first run, he skied perfectly in the second and became the first man to win two World Cup slaloms in Adelboden. . Hirscher's first seven career World Cup slalom victories were achieved at seven different venues. His last-start win in Zagreb was the first time he had won two slalom races at one venue, and today he achieved that once again.

“My first run was pretty good already but I made a mistake in the last section so I ended up just over 0.80 seconds behind Moelgg,” Hirscher said. I knew I had a good chance in the second run and if my second run would have been a poker game it would have been ‘All In’. After losing a victory in the Giant Slalom due to a mistake I was pretty fired up to have a good race today and am very happy in the end everything went according to plan.”

Mario Matt who is fresh off from his podium placement in the Zagreb Slalom held on to his second place from the first run and joined his teammate on the podium, finishing 0.30 seconds slower then Hirscher best total time of 1minute, 51.75 seconds.

“I am very satisfied, I finally feel that I have found a set up that works and already in Zagreb I felt much more confident.,” Matt said. “I might be considered a veteran of the sport but years just flew by and I can remember when I was just starting. It’s really a good feeling knowing that all those years later I can still be competitive and these last two podium made me really happy.”

Manfred Moelgg who was leading after the first run, was hammering down the slope trying to achieve his first victory this season but a mistake on the final pitch put him out of a placement on top of the podium. The Italian finished third, his second podium this season (after finishing second in the opening Giant Slalom in Soelden), his time 0.62 seconds slower then Hirscher’s.

“I needed this, and after racing 18 races in Adelboden finally a podium for me,” Moelgg was really happy with today’s result. “I made a mistake mid way and I can’t but be happy with this third place. Of course winning and beating Hirscher would have been something special, but this third place is just as satisfactory. I am coming back from a really tough year, I had plenty of ups and downs and kept struggling with an injured back so this third place is more then welcome.”

The best Swiss in today’s race was Ramon Zenhaeusern, who scored his first World Cup points from bib 48.

Entering this weekend, the Swiss had yet to record a men's podium in the first 16 races of the 2012/13 season. After 16 races last season, Switzerland had banked nine men's podiums. Switzerland has not put a man on a World Cup slalom podium for almost three years, since Silvan Zurbriggen came second in Schladming on 26 January 2010.

Switzerland has only had one men's World Cup slalom podium on home snow this century: Marc Berthod's victory in Adelboden in 2007.

Teams are packing up and moving to Wengen as already on Tuesday the speed skiers will start their first Downhill training in one of the most famous courses in the world.